I tow my 235 with a 2002 Chevy 1500. I think this is enough truck. The problem I have is when I hit even a slight roll in the road (light dip) the back of the truck and the front of the boat bounce up and down several times. It reminds me of a car with worn out shocks. I tried slowing, this had no effect. The road between my house and the boat ramp is extremely uncomfortable and I drive it at 35 mph. I am considering adding “Ride Control” an air bag system to stiffen my truck. Is this going to fix my problem? (Note the 235 has a single axle) Help please Russell
- Status
TONGUE WEIGHT
I am not positive, but it sounds like you a trailer problem wit not enough tongue weight. Visit a boat sales place and get some advice. I have read articles in Boat/ US and that might be a place to start. I am towing a 240 behind a Chrysler Town and Country so I know your truck is plenty big.
I am not positive, but it sounds like you a trailer problem wit not enough tongue weight. Visit a boat sales place and get some advice. I have read articles in Boat/ US and that might be a place to start. I am towing a 240 behind a Chrysler Town and Country so I know your truck is plenty big.
the curse of a long single axle trailer
when the weight is not concentrated over the axle. Make sure the boat is winched up tight against the front roller on the trailer, the one up by the winch. If it isn't the boat will bounce more on the trailer. you should have about 4-500 pounds of tongue weight. Adding more tongue weight won't help the bouncing. Too little tongue weight will cause the trailer to want to wander or waggle side to side. Air ride will help a little but it is mainly for adding load capacity to the truck, not for dampening bounce. The best addition will be heavy duty premium shock absorbers to the rear axle of your truck. Especially if the shocks that are on it now are OEM with alot of miles on them. Just don't buy cheap ones, go for top of the line shocks designed for towing. I had the same issue towing a 240 and was very impressed with the difference.
when the weight is not concentrated over the axle. Make sure the boat is winched up tight against the front roller on the trailer, the one up by the winch. If it isn't the boat will bounce more on the trailer. you should have about 4-500 pounds of tongue weight. Adding more tongue weight won't help the bouncing. Too little tongue weight will cause the trailer to want to wander or waggle side to side. Air ride will help a little but it is mainly for adding load capacity to the truck, not for dampening bounce. The best addition will be heavy duty premium shock absorbers to the rear axle of your truck. Especially if the shocks that are on it now are OEM with alot of miles on them. Just don't buy cheap ones, go for top of the line shocks designed for towing. I had the same issue towing a 240 and was very impressed with the difference.
The other way
The first time we drowe our 240 there was a lot of bouncing and bumping - quite uncomfortable. I found out that there was a lot of weight on the tounge. In Sweden the law says that the tounge weight should be 50-100 kgs, 100-200 pounds. The tonge weight is also counted as part of the cars payload. We moved the boat aft on the trailer and these days we normally goes with about 100 pounds and no bouncing at all. We tow with a SAAB 9000 -97, 2.0t,150 hp. Maximun speed for all trailers in Sweden is 50 mph. To much tounge weight will reduce the pressure on the front wheels - burnouts come easy and will cause problems on the slipway with a front wheel drive car. Our current problem is that the boat and trailer is about 600-700 pounds heavier than specified and now we are driving around with an overload.
The first time we drowe our 240 there was a lot of bouncing and bumping - quite uncomfortable. I found out that there was a lot of weight on the tounge. In Sweden the law says that the tounge weight should be 50-100 kgs, 100-200 pounds. The tonge weight is also counted as part of the cars payload. We moved the boat aft on the trailer and these days we normally goes with about 100 pounds and no bouncing at all. We tow with a SAAB 9000 -97, 2.0t,150 hp. Maximun speed for all trailers in Sweden is 50 mph. To much tounge weight will reduce the pressure on the front wheels - burnouts come easy and will cause problems on the slipway with a front wheel drive car. Our current problem is that the boat and trailer is about 600-700 pounds heavier than specified and now we are driving around with an overload.
Tongue weight and shocks
Tongue weight is 316 lbs. I checked it with a bathroom scale. I believe this rig is about 3000 to 3500 lbs. That puts me very near the 10% recommended tongue weight. The shocks seem strong enough. The truck has only 40,000 miles and here in Texas it is very flat. They hold the truck fine with out a load. When I put the trailer on it drops two inches. (Yes I measured it.) Is that two inches more than acceptable? It looks like my receiver is still too high. With the boat off the truck and just on its wheel I get the trailer level at about 9 inches of tongue height. Loaded on the truck it is at about 11 inches. Could this be part of my problem? Russell
Tongue weight is 316 lbs. I checked it with a bathroom scale. I believe this rig is about 3000 to 3500 lbs. That puts me very near the 10% recommended tongue weight. The shocks seem strong enough. The truck has only 40,000 miles and here in Texas it is very flat. They hold the truck fine with out a load. When I put the trailer on it drops two inches. (Yes I measured it.) Is that two inches more than acceptable? It looks like my receiver is still too high. With the boat off the truck and just on its wheel I get the trailer level at about 9 inches of tongue height. Loaded on the truck it is at about 11 inches. Could this be part of my problem? Russell
My experience
I've towed my H23.5 over the Rocky Mountains with a 3/4 ton diesel and on flat land with my 1991 Dodge Caravan (3.3L V6). No bouncing like you describe. I use a drop-down draw-bar to make the trailer fairly level. I've mostly had the outboard (Honda 9.9) removed when towing. Any idea if it makes any difference if you remove the outboard? ...RickM...
I've towed my H23.5 over the Rocky Mountains with a 3/4 ton diesel and on flat land with my 1991 Dodge Caravan (3.3L V6). No bouncing like you describe. I use a drop-down draw-bar to make the trailer fairly level. I've mostly had the outboard (Honda 9.9) removed when towing. Any idea if it makes any difference if you remove the outboard? ...RickM...
Load Distribution Hitch
I tow my 23.5 with an Astro van which has a trailer rating of 4900lbs. If you check the Chevy site you'll find that a low end 1500 will handle 3900lbs. The high end models are rated for up to 9900lbs. You should have enough vehicle for the boat. The tongue seems right so you might want to check out the hitch to make sure it is a load distribution type.
I tow my 23.5 with an Astro van which has a trailer rating of 4900lbs. If you check the Chevy site you'll find that a low end 1500 will handle 3900lbs. The high end models are rated for up to 9900lbs. You should have enough vehicle for the boat. The tongue seems right so you might want to check out the hitch to make sure it is a load distribution type.
Tigger effect
Hi Russel, I had the same problem with our 23.5. I tow with a Ford Ranger on both backroads and highways. I now take off the outboard, rudder and gas can and throw those in the pickup bed. The change in the weight distribution really helped. Jim
Hi Russel, I had the same problem with our 23.5. I tow with a Ford Ranger on both backroads and highways. I now take off the outboard, rudder and gas can and throw those in the pickup bed. The change in the weight distribution really helped. Jim
positioning
Be very careful if you position the boat farther aft. I had too much weight to the rear of the trailer, and on uneven roads the boat kept trying to pass me. I do have a 26.5, but I've talked to smaller boat owners that had the same problem.
Be very careful if you position the boat farther aft. I had too much weight to the rear of the trailer, and on uneven roads the boat kept trying to pass me. I do have a 26.5, but I've talked to smaller boat owners that had the same problem.
- Status